If you want to age gracefully, you need laughter in your life!
Yesterday I had a fun lunch with friends.
Friends came over on Sunday for a picnic and it was fun.
Kayaking on the lake was fun last week.
But, real laughter – hold your belly, jaw aching, tears in the eyes laughter – hmmm… that doesn’t happen so often for me.
I was blissfully ignorant about the absence of laughter until I spent a weekend with my youngest son Michael. He and his fiancee Davina made me LAUGH.
I was laughing, gasping for air, and nearly falling down from weakness!
It was literally breathtaking, yet stimulating and vitalizing!
Wow, I decided I just don’t laugh like THAT enough!
How did they get me to laugh that hard?
They keep humor in their home as a regular part of their day and humor easily flows between them. They enjoy harmless teasing between each other and have an obvious appreciation for each other’s practical jokes.
They dial up funny movies and comedians on the tv, so it’s often in the background. I noticed that if I walked past the tv, I felt compelled to stop for a few minutes to catch the rest of a scene, story or a punchline, and would have a good laugh before continuing on from the room.
Something I’ve always loved about Michael since his childhood is his openness to laugh out loud, even by himself.
While staying with them, we watched a standup comedienne and I was falling off the couch with laughter, partly because the woman was hilarious, and partly because Michael and Davina’s laughter was just as funny.
Next, Michael determined to teach me how to play video games. I didn’t expect to enjoy this but he was being such an attentive host to his mom that I decided to TRY.
Now, I laughed at MYSELF, and my apparent lack of coordination and control. I cracked up at my avatar walking into walls, getting stuck in corners for long periods of time, shooting holes in the ceiling instead of my enemies. I didn’t know my ineptitude could be so hilarious, but it was!
When I came back from that enjoyable weekend away, I felt renewed!
I realized I LOVED laughter and it had been missing from my life!
How about YOU?
When is the last time YOU laughed hard? What makes you laugh?
Have you ever thought of laughter as a GIFT?
When is the last time you saw an elderly person laughing that hard?
What could you do to make that happen?
Great article.
Thank you!
laughing is contagious, not laughing AT someone but WITH someone. i have a video of my 2 sisters and myself trying to take a video on my phone, it cracks me up.my daughter sent it to her cousins and it has a domino effect of laughter.
I love having you in class because you’re always smiling!
Oh Kathryn, your post actually made me laugh. I can picture myself doing the same thing. I find myself really laughing each day at my golden retriever named Charlie. He is so very funny. The great thing about him is he will make you play until you laugh. My daughter Emilie whom is 17 now, was playing with him and said “mom, Charlie makes me feel so good and I really laugh at him all the time.” I find that if you really stop and look at what you have going on, very little is as important as stopping for just a moment and just….laughing, Thanks so very much for sharing your story…
So healing, so healthy, Cheri! Thank YOU!